CLIENT: Operation Exodus
Operation Exodus is a nonprofit organization offering educational services for Hispanic children and families who live near or below the poverty line in certain neighborhoods of New York City. The organization turned to Red Rooster Group for marketing consulting Services that would help them to raise their profile, expand their reach, and increase donations.
Challenge
As a result of the persistent violence and lack of academic challenges in area schools, Luis Iza Jr., a businessman and Sunday school teacher, joined with a group of parents from a Latino church to establish Operation Exodus, with a mission “to inspire students in poor neighborhoods of NYC to achieve goals that no one expects them to reach, through tutoring and mentoring programs.”
Today the organization operates out of two sites in Washington Heights and Inwood offering K – 12th grade children a range of educational programs. Exodus has become a home away from home for many of the students, rather than just a place to study and learn.
However, in order for Exodus to sustain its programs and operations, the organization needs to raise its profile and increase donations. At present, the organization does not have a cohesive way of coordinating how it communicates with its various audiences and therefore is unable to leverage the good work it is doing in the community for positive effect.
The Process
Through a collaborative approach, we worked closely with a small committee at Operation Exodus to understand their history, services, issues, and challenges, and to develop a plan that was viable to execute. We worked with them through a series of meetings over four months, reviewing our work with them every stage of the process to get their feedback and ensure that all parties were aligned.
Marketing Audit, Competitor & SWOT Analysis
As a foundation for addressing Operation Exodus’ marketing challenges it was important for Red Rooster Group to validate the current situation and identify gaps within the context of the organization’s vision. To do so, we conducted the following research:
Marketing Audit
The Marketing Audit consisted of reviewing all of Operation Exodus’ existing communications including brochures, presentations, campaign letters, and volunteer handbooks. The scope of the audit also extended to reviewing their website and social media sites, analyzing participant surveys and reports from their donor base. We also conducted a site visit in order to get first-hand experience of Operation Exodus. Tips for improving the facilities were put forward as ‘quick wins’.
Competitor Analysis
To gain an understanding of the other supplemental educational programs in the area, we conducted a competitive landscape review to reveal powerful insights for presenting Operation Exodus effectively.
SWOT Analysis
The findings from both the Marketing Audit and Competitor Analysis were summarized in the form of a SWOT Analysis providing Operation Exodus with a complete picture of the current situation, from Strengths and Weaknesses to Opportunities and Threats.
Marketing Goals
Based on our understanding of Operation Exodus’ needs, we developed the following marketing goals:
- Expand reach into ‘at risk’ communities.
- Increase overall amount of donations from individuals.
- Maintain a steady stream of qualified and motivated volunteers.
- Establish partnership for Operation Exodus’ third site set to open in 2013 and discover two to three new potential venue partners in 2014.
Marketing Strategies
To achieve these goals, Red Rooster Group recommended a number of strategies:
1. Refine the mission and ensure shared understanding among all audiences.
In line with Operation Exodus’ vision and goals, Red Rooster Group proposed that the mission be stronger and more reflective of its intent on being a force for positive change in communities. Given Operation Exodus’ grounding as a religious organization, Red Rooster Group also recommended that consideration be given to the role of religion in the mission and to the organization’s definition of success. We proposed that the approved Mission Statement be consistently executed across all mediums so that it could be readily understood by all stakeholders.
2. Increase brand awareness and recognition among donor base.
In recognizing the need to raise Operation Exodus’ profile, Red Rooster Group proposed that the organization refine its brand positioning order to clarify its differentiating, relevant benefits, and values, and to define the organization’s ‘personality’ in order to set the tone and feel for future communications.
Other tactics proposed for this strategy included developing brand ambassadors in professional staff, board members and volunteers, establishing relationships with other nonprofit organizations in the community, creating corporate sponsorship opportunities, and building the brand among Operation Exodus students and parents from day one.
3. Improve community building, outreach, and engagement to all audiences.
In this strategy, we recommended a variety of outreach tactics:
- Improving the website to better convey the organization’s the mission and its impact in the community.
- Revisiting the objectives of existing social media platforms and optimizing them as real tools for engaging with key audiences.
- Producing fundraising events specifically capitalizing on the 25th anniversary of Operation Exodus.
- Building relationships with the media and potential program partners.
- Initiating a matching program to pair donors with specific students and classes.
4. Develop a more robust targeted communications program.
To help Operation Exodus improve the effectiveness of its communications to donors, parents, potential staff, and partners, Red Rooster Group put forward a number of ideas for targeted communications which included developing a more professional organizational brochure for donors, establishing quarterly newsletters for students and adults, and developing campaign mailings to existing and new donors.
5. Improve the organization’s internal marketing capability.
Our ultimate goal was to leave Operation Exodus with a stronger ability to handle their own ongoing marketing needs. Toward that end, we recommended improvements to their systems and processes including:
- Automating their system for managing tutors, volunteers and students.
- Streamlining their student application process.
- Developing more detailed surveys for assessing satisfaction levels of volunteers.
- Implementing a database system and improving data capture for all audiences, specifically to increase donor giving levels.
Marketing Plan
As the next step in this process, Red Rooster Group developed an 18-month Marketing Calendar that provided the overall strategies and specific tactics on how best to reach the audiences while keeping budget to a minimum. The plan outlines the tactics for accomplishing the goals, parties responsible, and costs all on a month-by-month basis. To help Operation Exodus implement these recommendations, we created a Google Doc spreadsheet that the organization could use on an ongoing basis.
The Result
As a result of this process, Operation Exodus now has a comprehensive understanding of their needs and a robust marketing plan for addressing them. Equipped with specific marketing strategies and tactics, they now have the roadmap for achieving their goals, including the creation of a working document that is already being put to use. The implementation of our plan was the first step in major changes for the organization as it matures and evolves the ways in which it operates. Red Rooster Group’s services provided a solid foundation for the future of Operation Exodus, and set the organization on a path of growth and success.
Links
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Red Rooster Group is a New York based graphic design firm that creates effective brands, websites, and marketing campaigns to increase your visibility, fundraising, and communications effectiveness. Contact us at info@redroostergroup.com.